Elvis Week in Hawai'i centers around new Rock Cafe

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

Michael Gelfo, owner of Rock Island Cafe in Waikiki, wears Elvis gear. His restaurant/shop has a 1950s theme. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

Between 300 and 400 Elvis Presley fan club members from the Mainland, Japan and parts of Europe begin arriving today for the festivities, said Michael Gelfo, a 1990 Punahou graduate, who opened the snack and collectibles shop because of his interest in and admiration for Presley and the '50s.

In his prime as a rock star, Presley ventured to the Islands to give a concert at Bloch Arena on March 25, 1961, to raise the initial $65,000 toward the construction of the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. It was the single largest donation and brought worldwide public awareness and media attention to the memorial effort, a tribute to those killed during the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor that sent the United States into World War II.

Gelfo said he connected with Graceland sources to become the official contact for the Elvis Week promotion that will include a flurry of activities, from lu'au shows to tours of the Arizona.

Charlie Ross, president for the past 25 years of the Elvis Presley Fan Club of Hawai'i, said she knew of the celebration, which she expected to attract numerous Elvis fans, but her club isn't officially involved. "I know two of our members, who no longer live here, are coming in," said Ross. "One is from Florida, another is from Japan."

"My parents, Gene and Florence Gelfo, own the Royal Peddler shop next door, and have been doing business there since 1972," said Gelfo. "I moved back home from California and wanted to develop a concept I had that would be a fusion of food and beverage service and merchandising."

He chose the name Rock Island Cafe because of his devotion to rock music, but said that rock also referred to "the island (O'ahu) being called 'The Rock' when we were going to school."

Gelfo said he wanted to surround the customer with mood-provoking reminders of another era, along the lines of better-known theme restaurants, including Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood. "There are Elvis napkin dispensers, a collectible collage of the Beatles on the wall, and Coke table and chairs," he said.

And everything's for sale.

For $10, you can take home an Elvis "Blue Hawai'i" lunch box. A Reyn's "Blue Hawai'i" shirt sells for $75. For $400, you can acquire a large Elvis lamp. The bistro-style Coca-Cola table, with a matching pair of chairs, are $795 for the set.

"I'd say I'm 50 percent cafe, 50 percent retail," said Gelfo.

He was contacted by Graceland officials, who run the Presley estate, to be the official Hawai'i source for the anniversary celebration uniting die-hard Presleymaniacs. But you needn't be a fan club member to participate in the activities, he said. The Rock Island Cafe will be the outlet for locals to secure tickets; it's also the site of an all-day orientation tomorrow, where Presley fans here for sun in the fun can trade notes and memories of the King.

Gelfo normally wears a Presley wig during service hours, and his waitresses wear beehive hairdos.

"I love rock, and this place lets me be my own boss," he said.